C-MaxSea Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) I could not find anything definative in the Owner's Manual for the location of these 'vents' - just warnings not to block (page 179 & 200). It says that they (plural) are behind the rear seats. I find four possibilities; two above the cargo roof shade, and two in the cargo bay wall - left & right, of course. Are all four ventilating the battery, or just two of these - and if two, which two? Are the upper two for AC and lower two for the battery? Also, while we are in the boot - I noticed what looks like a removable cover plate in the lower corner of the left side of the cargo bay. It has two symbols on it, perhaps a charging symbol and an Owner's Manual symbol. Have not found anything on this yet, nor have I tried to open it - just noticed it with a flashlight. I better go look more closely. Nick (I could not find anything here either - yet) Edited March 5, 2013 by C-MaxSeattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkraider Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 All 4 are battery vents. Probably to make sure they are unlikely to be clogged by cargo. The battery also vents to outside air, the computer actively manages where it needs to vent to and from. That panel is covering a fuse block, behind it is one of the cars fuse panels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) After searching and looking at the parts diagrams It now looks like there are 2 upper inlet ducts laying flat on the left and right side behind the seat backs under the window glass. I can't really tell where the exhaust vents are but believe they are under the car. Here's the one link I recall looking at some time ago and the other link is the Fordparts.com parts diagrams.I believe the other 2 covers are for access to the tail lights but could be exhaust vents. Edited March 5, 2013 by Plus 3 Golfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxSea Posted March 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 Thanks Valk & Plus 3. OK, all four lead to the lithium ion battery cavity. So........................ next question, what if the window above one of these is shattered and some of the glass falls down into this cavity? I am in the process of discovery and remedy on ours. We are fairly certain now that one of our windows above the vent was shattered. Won't elaborate too much, but we will be into the shop soon to have this explored. I would like to explore this myself, but there are complicating 'remedy' issues involved. I plan to be present when the area is opened up, if it is necessary. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plus 3 golfer Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 C-MaxSeatle I edited my above post with a link to the HV battery removal and you can see the upper vents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkraider Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 I stand corrected, according to those diagrams it looks like the lower vents just open into the wall cavities. Maybe that still allows for some airflow somewhere (general electrical components?) but is not ducted directly to the battery. The fans are significantly different on they Energi vs the Hybrid... And yes, I would want to get that glass out of those ducts. Even if there isn't a problem right now, vibration and G Forces could move the chunks of glass all over the place... :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxSea Posted March 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) Excellent. Thanks again guys. Now my challenge will be to either have the shop scope the right vent duct, or track down a scoping videocam and try to scope it myself. I want to be sure there is glass down there before having them tear it all apart - there is always the chance that the duct opening was covered before the breakage (if the breakage was at a shop (long speculative story)). I am a bit surprised that the left duct and right duct are not interconnected for flow through - probably for very good reasons.Nick Any ideas on scoping video cams? Edited March 5, 2013 by C-MaxSeattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkraider Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 They might be "connected" in the sense that they go into the same battery cavity - just in the diagrams the battery cavity inside the box is considered a "closed box" (probably for good reason - I imagine most normal service people should never be opening that box) so for our purposes it's considered a magic box and we never need to know what is inside. :) I am nervous about pet hair and other dust/debris. Any kind of fun activity seems like potential to get crud down in there. Pet hair, sand, leaves, pine needles, dust, road grit & gravel, kids beads or glitter or Cheerios... Basically anything that can be on the junk we pile back there can end up dropping down those vents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxSea Posted March 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) Yes Valk, I thought so myself, mixing air in the 'magic box'. Very good points on the dust/debris/animal hair................. I took off what I thought was just a cover plate and found it to be a little basket affair which would probably catch perhaps 80-90 % of that stuff; not the fines and/or small heavy objects (like glass). As a weak point of comparison, I installed a wall mount 220 heater in a minimally used bathroom 10 years ago and it blew recently due to a dust short on the electrical heating element. (I was amazed at the buildup in the unit when I opened it up) I'm not trying to suggest anything sinister here, but we are going to be somewhat cautious about those two duct openings, they are cavernously large and sucky. Hmmm is it worth considering a finer weave filter over the basket??? Hopefully not. Nick Edited March 5, 2013 by C-MaxSeattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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